Hi Matt.
John Deakin's Pelican article you brought up had just the point I was
considering, Here's a snip

"In fact, I can make a very good case that the classic 45-degree entry
is itself a violation of the FARs, since it is ALWAYS in the opposite
direction to the established flow of traffic. Since it is the final
turn onto the downwind leg, it must certainly be in the "vicinity" of
the airport, and therefore covered by the above regs"

thus, even the 45 degree right turn on downwind should be considered a
violation of the FARs
Stan

Of course there's always the 45-degree zealots
http://www.avweb.com/news/columns/182100-1.html